The big patent win for Apple against Samsung could kick off a major shifting of equations in the mobile phone industry, and the biggest beneficiaries could turn out to be the Nokia-Microsoft combo.
Why? Here are the five key reasons:

1. Nokia almost has an army of patents, now fortressed by Microsoft’s OS walls: 
Nokia is perhaps the only mobile phone company today that can stand sizably alongside Apple when it comes to patents and cumulative R&D investments. The other company would have been Motorola Mobility that got acquired by Google, though it is also argued that Motorola patents don’t have as contemporary value as Nokia’s do. Further, the special-partner arrangement that Nokia has with Microsoft could work even more to the duo’s advantage. Nokia’s patented technologies, combined with Microsoft’s tiled Windows Phone interface make it an absolutely lawsuit-proof combination.

2. Apple’s win could spawn restrains for copy-cat trends at large, which could greatly benefit Nokia: 
In recent years, no other mobile phone maker has possibly suffered more than Nokia from copy-cap behaviors, though more in the feature phones segment. Interestingly, Apple’s battle with Samsung, even though in the smart phone segment, related not only to software infringements but also to design patent violations.

3. As vendors scramble to take the Windows bus, Nokia already is in driver’s seat: 
It’s been more than nine months when Nokia Lumia phones, based on the Windows platform, first landed on store shelves and have since been picked up by million-plus consumers globally. The device has been a reasonable, if not astounding success, which is commendable for a company transitioning from the legacy Symbian platform. That gives Nokia an advantageous start, as other vendors expectedly scramble to ride the Windows platform, on apprehensions that the Android interface would be vulnerable to future lawsuits [from Apple].

4. The Windows Phone interface is not just different, it’s unique too, and refreshingly so: 
Much has appreciatively been written about the new Windows Phone interface that debuted with the Mango version. In fact, some of the rave reviews that Lumia 800 managed to grab could well be attributed to the Windows interface, as the device looks are shares with previously released Nokia N9.

5. The timing could be just very right, with Windows 8 launch round the corner: 
A likely rush for Windows [vendors are already talking about that post the Apple win] could help build a mainstream ecosystem momentum in favor of Windows Phone. That could potentially make Nokia a leader on a bubbling Windows platform, just as Samsung has been on Android. (See also: http://www.businessandmarket.net/2012/08/5-questions-that-microsoft-must-answer.html)
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